Ashfield District Council has kept its bid to improve rail connections to the district on track.

It has submitted a bid to the Restoring Your Railway programme that could lead to the reopening of the Maid Marian line to passengers.

The line would take passengers into Ilkeston, Derbyshire and beyond as well as the HS2 hub at Toton.

The council has worked in partnership with neighbouring district and county councils, the Discover Ashfield Board, MPs, Network Rail and Midlands Connect to put together the plans.

Coun Jason Zadrozny, leader of Ashfield District Council said “The council has been working towards this project for seven years, submitting our bid to see the old mineral line reopened from Kirkby, through Pinxton and into Derbyshire.

“The opening of this line would offer opportunity for positive connectivity, with plans in place for new stations at Selston/Pinxton and King’s Mill.

“This is not just great news for Ashfield, but also Mansfield, Bolsover, Erewash and beyond. They have worked closely with us on this project and the impact on the wider area would be phenomenal.”

The plans would be delivered as a phased approach.

Stage one would see hourly train services, using existing train stations, with further stages bringing new stations to Selston/Pinxton and Kings Mill.

The final phase would eventually see half hourly trains to the HS2 hub at Toton.

Coun Matthew Relf, cabinet member for planning and regeneration, said: “This project would open up a number of opportunities for Ashfield and the wider area in regard to education and business opportunities.

“Along with Towns Fund projects to open new educational centres, the connectivity between rural areas and the rest of the district would provide easy access for students to access higher education.

“It would also widen employment opportunities with reliable transport links across the district.”

If successful the bid would allow the council to move forward with a full outlined business case before moving on to the final proposals. The outcome of the bid is expected in the autumn.